Day 36: Day Trip to Portofino (12mi/19km)

Although overnighting in Portofino was too rich for our blood, we decided to take a day trip to see what all the hype is about. We took the train through the mountains to Rapallo, and then biked along the coast road 6 miles to Portofino. We were surprised by how bad the pavement is here. It was annoying on our bicycles, but imagine if we had driven our Ferraris!

The rugged coast is beautiful here and the sea is clear and blue. Portofino's sister city is Cassis France, where we went on our last trip, and the similarities are striking.

As you approach Portofino, hints of the rich and famous start to appear.

A final turn took us into the madhouse of Portofino. We squeezed our bikes into the town parking lot amongst the Lamborghinis and motorcycles, and wandered down to the main and only square, which is right on the harbor.

We didn't see any celebrities, but we did see a lot of outrageous fashion, one Thurston Howell III-like yachtsman, and one tiny dog in a handbag. We also heard a lot of Americans, for the first time on our trip.

There were signs of the rich and famous, including mega yachts, as well as an art gallery catering to mega yachts

And villas hidden all over the hillsides.

There are also a few remaining picturesque fishing boats, which are probably planted for tourist photos like this one.

After a thoroughly mediocre and overpriced lunch / people watching opportunity, where A had pesto Genovese

And Eric had meat milanese

We took a hike up to the church

and on to the lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula

There we finally had a minute of quiet, to look down into the beautiful Mediterranean, and imagine what this place might have been like before Elizabeth Taylor, etc. "discovered" it in the 1950s.

After that, back down to the town, where we found this charming public art, and back to Rapallo to catch the train.

We are definitely jaded and spoiled, but Portofino can be skipped without a great deal of heartburn. However it is a nice day trip from Genoa if you have the time.

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